This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/29/syria-oppositions-negotiator-resigns-over-failure-of-un-peace-talks

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Syria opposition's negotiator resigns over failure of UN peace talks Syrian peace talks in peril after opposition's chief negotiator quits
(about 13 hours later)
The chief peace negotiator of Syria’s mainstream opposition said on Sunday he was resigning over the failure of the UN-backed Geneva peace talks to bring a political settlement and ease the plight of Syrians living in besieged rebel-held areas. The prospects of a negotiated peace settlement in the Syrian civil war were dealt a serious blow when the opposition’s chief negotiator in UN-brokered talks in Geneva resigned, describing them as a waste of time on security and humanitarian fronts.
Mohammad Alloush, who is also the representative of the powerful Jaysh al-Islam rebel faction in the Saudi-based High Negotiations Committee, said in a statement to Reuters that the peace talks had also failed to secure the release of thousands of detainees or to push Syria towards a political transition without President Assad. Mohammed Alloush, a member of the Saudi-backed rebel group Jaysh al-Islam (army of Islam), condemned the international community’s “inability to enforce resolutions, in particular regarding humanitarian issues, [such as] the lifting of sieges, access to aid, the release of prisoners and adherence to the ceasefire”.
The UN-backed parties have not set a date for the resumption of the peace talks after the HNC suspended their participation until the situation on the ground has radically changed. Alloush, who had also come under pressure from his own military supporters to resign, said in a statement on Facebook on Sunday: “The three rounds of talks were unsuccessful because of the stubbornness of the regime and its continued bombardments and aggression towards the Syrian people.”
The head of the main Syrian opposition delegation, Asaad al-Zoubi, told the al Hadath Arab news channel that he too wanted to be relieved of his post in the HNC but did not confirm he had taken a similar step. Before his resignation, Alloush had called on Russia and the US to do more to enforce a ceasefire. He had also called for more action on the release of political prisoners and their treatment while incarcerated.
A source in the opposition said Zoubi was replaced in a reshuffle of the HNC negotiating team that includes both military factions and political groupings. The UN’s envoy, Staffan de Mistura, last week postponed talks for three weeks, saying more time was needed to re-establish the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access to besieged cities.
Zoubi said no real discussions had taken place in the four months since the latest rounds of Geneva peace talks began and opposition pleas to get the UN-backed process to pressure the Syrian authorities to allow humanitarian aid to besieged areas had gone unheeded. Previous rounds of talks in Geneva made little progress in the central issue of a political transition. Many on the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) believe the US is focusing on removing Isis from its de facto capital Raqqa rather than the battle to dislodge Bashar al-Assad.
In April, the Syrian opposition suspended its formal participation in peace talks, saying it would only return if the situation on the ground radically changed. They were protesting against Syrian army offensives that they said meant a ceasefire was in effect over. However, they were under strong pressure not to quit altogether. Asaad al-Zoubi, the head of the main Syrian opposition delegation, also said he wanted to be relieved of his post in the HNC but did not confirm he had taken a similar step. The HNC said Alloush’s decision will lead to a wider restructuring of its leadership. The move also reflects tensions about whether it should pull out of the talks altogether and in effect disband.
Alloush’s importance to the HNC stemmed from his closer links to Syrian fighters. Some members of the committee – an unwieldy group assembled in Riyadh – were regarded as exiles who have less direct contact to those fighting Assad’s forces. The danger for those trying to keep the peace process alive is that the HNC will lose legitimacy if it does not have sufficient links with rebel fighters.
Meanwhile, the Syrian government’s chief negotiator in Geneva, Bashar Jaafari, had described Alloush as a terrorist, refusing to talk to him unless he “shaves off his beard”. Forces linked to Alloush have been accused of atrocities in Damascus suburbs.